Hands-free gun holder

ABSTRACT

A hands-free gun holding device comprising a flexible sling, an attachment mechanism, and an anti-slip liner. The sling of the device is adjustably attached to a hunting jacket by the attachment mechanism and supports the butt of the gun, thereby leaving a hunter&#39;s hands free to use animal calls and binoculars, and perform other functions useful in hunting. The liner covers at least a portion of the inside of the sling thereby preventing the gun butt from slipping out of the sling. The flexible sling lies flat against the hunter&#39;s jacket when not being used, and, therefore, the sling does not interfere with other hunting activities. This gun-holding device allows the hunter to minimize both gun, body movements, and resulting unwanted noise. It therefore, reduces the chance that the animal will detect the hunter.

RELATED U.S. PATENT APPLICATION DATA

[0001] Applicant claims priority for this application to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/234,661 filed on Sep. 22, 2000.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention described herein generally relates to a gun-holding device and more specifically to a flexible gun holding device that attaches to a hunter's clothing and allows the butt of a gun to be held in shooting position without using one's hands.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

[0003] In the sport of hunting, it is crucial that a hunter remain as motionless and noiseless as possible while lying in wait so as not to scare away the animal being hunted. This is especially true when hunting turkeys due to turkeys' keen eyesight. One way a hunter can reduce motion and unwanted noise is to have his gun in shooting position while calling the animal and waiting for the animal to appear. However, holding the gun in a shooting position requires the use of the hunter's hands thereby disabling the hunter from using friction calls, rattling, using binoculars, or performing other functions useful in hunting with his hands. Therefore, the need exists for an device that allows a hunter to hold his gun in shooting position without the use of his hands while sitting in wait for an animal, but which also does not interfere with the hunter's shot if the hunter must suddenly raise his gun while walking or standing.

[0004] Previous gun holding devices include having a pocket in the lower portion of a hunting jacket to support the butt of a gun in a vertical position while walking as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,635,246; while other devices disclose having rigid, nonadjustable cups attached to the jacket or strapped to the hunter to improve the aim and accuracy of the hunter's shot as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,801, U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,165, and U.K. Patent No. 2301. None of these previous devices provides for a flexible device which holds the gun in a shooting position, frees the hunter's hands, and lays flat against the hunter's chest when not being used as set forth in the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention provides a gun-holding device comprising a flexible sling, an attachment mechanism, and an anti-slip liner. The sling of the device is adjustably attached to a hunting jacket by the attachment mechanism and supports the butt of the gun, thereby leaving a hunter's hands free to perform animal calls and other animal-attracting noises. The liner covers at least a portion of the inside of the sling thereby preventing the gun butt from slipping out of the sling. The flexible sling lies flat against the hunter's jacket when not being used, and, therefore, the sling does not interfere with other hunting activities.

[0006] This gun-holding device allows the hunter to minimize both gun and body movements and unwanted noise, and, therefore reduces the chance that the hunted animal will detect the hunter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The invention will be described in detail hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawing figures wherein;

[0008]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the gun-holding device;

[0009]FIG. 2 shows a side view of the gun-holding device while supporting the gun butt; and

[0010]FIG. 3 shows the gun-holding device lying flat against the hunting jacket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, gun-holding device 1 includes flexible sling 10 having first end 11, second end 12, open side 13, and side 14. Sling 10 is preferably made of cloth so that it is noiseless and lies flat against the hunting jacket when not being used. Additionally, making sling 10 from cloth enables the sling to be made from material matching the hunting vest or jacket such as camouflage. First end 11 is attached to a shoulder portion of the hunting jacket by an adjustable attachment mechanism 20. In the preferred embodiment first end 11 is sloped from the point of attachment downward toward the arm to correspond with the natural shape of a shoulder. The right or left shoulder of the vest or jacket to which first end 11 is attached depends of the preferred shooting position of the hunter. In the preferred embodiment, attachment mechanism 20 includes two button holes on first end 11 which can be connected to a button located on the preferred shoulder of the hunting vest or jacket. Attachment mechanism 20 contains more than one buttonhole so as to allow sling 10 to be adjusted vertically to the hunter's desired position. While buttons are the preferred attachment mechanism, it is noted that various other types of attachment mechanisms may be used, including but not limited to snaps, hooks, clips, Velcro, and a harness.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2, second end 12 of sling 10 supports the gun butt 40. Gun butt 40 is inserted into sling 10 through open side 13. While only open side 13 is necessary to receive gun butt 40, the preferred embodiment also includes side 14 in an open or partially open position so as to allow dirt to fall out of sling 10.

[0013] In order to prevent gun butt 40 from sliding out of sling 10, second end 12 of sling 10 contains an anti-slip liner 30 as shown in FIG. 1. In the preferred embodiment, liner 30 is made of a rubber material; however, various kinds of rubber or other gripping materials which may be solid, intermittent, striated or stippled can be used as liner 30. Liner 30 prevents gun butt 40 from slipping out of sling 10 by contacting gun butt 40 and increasing the friction between gun butt 40 and sling 10. Liner 30 should preferably be greater than three inches in length in order to properly contact gun butt 40. Ideally, liner 30 should be between three and five inches in length.

[0014] While lying in wait in the woods, the hunter assumes his waiting position with gun-holding device 1 attached to the preferred shoulder portion of the hunter's jacket by attachment mechanism 20. The hunter engages gun-holding device 1 by inserting gun butt 40 into sling 10 through open side 13 where it is supported by second end 12 and gripped by liner 30. The barrel of the gun rests on the hunter's knee or other support device. Using gun-holding device 1 allows the hunter to use his hands to perform animal calls or other animal-attracting noises while keeping the gun in a shooting position; therefore, the hunter is minimizing both body and gun motion and unwanted noise. When the hunter is not using gun-holding device 1, the device lies flat against the hunter's jacket as shown in FIG. 3, and, therefore does not interfere with the hunter's shot when the gun is raised to a shooting position.

[0015] While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be understood that the invention may be modified without departing from the spirit of the inventive principles set forth in the following claims.

HANDS-FREE GUN HOLDER PARTS LIST

[0016]1 gun—holding device

[0017]10 sling—made of soft, flexible material preferably cloth; can be camouflage

[0018]11 first end—point of attachment and sloped from shoulder to arm pit

[0019]12 second end—end for supporting gun butt

[0020]13 open side—for receiving gun butt

[0021]14 other side—dirt release

[0022]20 adjustable attachment mechanism

[0023]21 button holes

[0024]30 liner—rubber like material, preferably covers 3-5 inches of inner sling surface

[0025]40 gun butt 

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for holding a gun comprising: a flexible sling having a first end, a second end, and at least one open side; an attachment mechanism located at said first end of said sling; and an anti-slip liner connected to the inner portion of said sling.
 2. A device as in claim 1, wherein said sling is made of cloth.
 3. A device as in claim 1, wherein said first end of said sling is sloped.
 4. A device as in claim 1, wherein said sling includes two open sides.
 5. A device as in claim 1, wherein said attachment mechanism is adjustable.
 6. A device as in claim 5, wherein said adjustable attachment mechanism is comprised of at least one buttonhole.
 7. A device as in claim 5, wherein said adjustable attachment mechanism is comprised of at least one snap.
 8. A device as in claim 5, wherein said adjustable attachment mechanism is comprised of at least one hook.
 9. A device as in claim 5, wherein said adjustable attachment mechanism is comprised of a clip.
 10. A device as in claim 5, wherein said adjustable attachment mechanism is comprised of Velcro.
 11. A device as in claim 5, wherein said adjustable attachment mechanism is comprised of a harness.
 12. A device as in claim 1, wherein said anti-slip liner is comprised of a rubberized material.
 13. A device as in claim 1, wherein said anti-slip liner covers at least ½ square inch on each side of the inner portion of said second end of said sling.
 14. A device as in claim 1, wherein said anti-slip liner covers ½ square inch to all of each side of the inner portion of said second end of said sling.
 15. A device as in claim 14, wherein said anti-slip liner is solid anti-slip material.
 16. A device as in claim 14, wherein said anti-slip liner is stippled anti-slip material.
 17. A device as in claim 14, wherein said anti-slip liner is striated anti-slip material. 